Alamo Colleges students weigh in against online strategy

SAN ANTONIO — Alamo Colleges students took their grievances against the community college district's push toward online instructional materials to trustees Tuesday night by presenting a petition with about 1,500 signatures during a board meeting.

In January, trustees voted 8-1 in favor of the instructional materials strategy, which includes having students pay for the materials as part of their tuition and fees so they can be electronically delivered to students before class begins “with an inexpensive option to print.”

Students say that delivery process cuts out other purchasing options through which they can sometimes find cheaper books.

“It's unfair because we have the right to search for our own materials,” said Karen Truelove, 35, an education sophomore at Palo Alto College, before the meeting. She said she hunts Amazon.com for deals.